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Foreign worker dormitories have taken steps to prevent residents from mingling with each other, but these are not foolproof, say dormitory operators, who point out that no number of rules will work if people don’t follow them.
Since the dormitories were declared Covid-19 free a month ago, on August 11, an average of 45 workers tested positive for the disease daily, the Health Ministry revealed on Wednesday.
They were detected primarily through active surveillance testing, such as routine roster testing (RRT) and aggressive follow-up and testing when a new case is detected.
The CEO of dormitory operator Centurion, Mr. Kong Chee Min, noted that it was now possible for workers to become infected elsewhere, outside of their dormitories, because many spend part of their day outdoors after resuming work. and the gradual relaxation of some restrictions.
He called for a coordinated effort with employers to enforce precautions in their workplaces and urged workers to “understand and comply with the restrictions, including as we do our part to educate and encourage them in this area.”
More than 16,000 workers currently occupy five Westlite dormitories managed by Centurion. Two of the bedrooms reported new cases recently.
All five have implemented various measures, such as technology-enabled doors scheduled to open only to residents of specific blocks or floors, and restricting residents to their rooms except when going to work or for essential services.
On the new cases, Mr. Kong said that the workers may have already been infected during the initial tests, but they tested negative because they were still in the initial stage of incubation.
The second minister for Human Resources, Tan See Leng, also raised this possibility during a virtual press conference on Wednesday.
When asked if any of the bedroom cases had passed the tests, Dr. Tan replied, “At that particular point in the incubation cycle, we may not have contracted the virus because the virus outbreak, the concentration, it hasn’t reached that level yet. “
In light of this, authorities took steps to toughen procedures by listing workers for testing every 14 days. Currently, about 90 percent of workers have been programmed for ERR.
Other measures have also been taken to discourage mixing in bedrooms.
Fences, gates, and dedicated routes to common areas and exits are now the norm in many buildings. Common facilities such as kitchen and dining areas have also been fenced off, segregating them for workers who are housed in different sections.
In addition, time slots are assigned for the use of services such as supermarkets, and security agents are on duty 24 hours a day to enforce safe distancing measures.
Workers are grouped by workplaces, and the pick-up and drop-off times of those heading to work are staggered to avoid overcrowding, said Chairman of the Singapore Dormitory Association, Johnathan Cheah.
Cheah, who is also managing director of S11 Dormitories, which manages a total of 19,000 beds in three bedrooms, said the measures were designed to “reduce the mixing of large groups.” His firm has seen a total of 20 new cases since the go-ahead.
At Hulett Dormitory, movement is also tightly controlled via facial recognition or card access, said its facilities manager, Jack Ng.
Dedicated elevators serve the different floors, with each floor separated into several wings by a gantry system.
The bedroom has registered two new cases of Covid-19 since it was cleared.
Still, Mr Ng believes the measures are still adequate for now, but said workers “must be educated on the importance of adhering to them.”
“Otherwise, no number of safe distancing measures will work,” he said.
Dr Tan noted Wednesday that authorities had “successfully contained more than 200 reemerging dormitory sites” so far. In most of these sites, the number of reemerging infections has been low, with fewer than 10 each.
However, one dormitory operator, who declined to be named, was concerned about monitoring workers 24/7 and limiting their opportunities for social interaction.
“Some workers have been isolated for many months,” said the operator. “We don’t want them to feel trapped here.”
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